Best Addition to 6'4 Alternator?

12-07-2013, 12:33 AM

Hi Guys,

i've been running up and down the website and forum and can't decide on which board to pick

I'm 28, 184 / 76kg, very good shape, competitive swimmer, live in Germany so surfing is a holiday sport, around 4 weeks / year. I would consider myself as a low intermediate. No problem getting into waves, bottom / top turn, cutbacks etc. but no really critical moves.

I have two boards at the moment, a 6'4 Alternator (bit thinner than the stock model, roughly 34 liter) and a 6'0 20 1/2 / 2 7/8 egg for the really small summer stuff in France etc. (http://www.manualboards.com/surf/surfboards/biskit). I feel that for most of the days I would need something in between these two boards - a bit more forgiving than the Alternator and more lively than the egg.

I'm pretty happy with the alternator when it's really overhead but in flat sections I sink in the nose some times and lose to much speed....so I'm looking for a everyday board that i can ride between chest high and 1.5 overhead. For the bigger & cleaner stuff i keep the Alternator, for super low end there is the egg but i won't take that board to the Maldives ;)

Spitfire or Unibrow. I have both and would have Unibrow if I could only have one board. It is refined from Dominator / Hellfire and just a little more versatile than Spitfire as waves improve. Both boards are good in small gutless stuff. But for the 4 - 6 foot days I'd get a unibrow.

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thanks! i'm concerned that the unibrow might be too similar to the alternator. the nose looks quite thin and that's the only problem i have when riding the alternator in weaker/flatter waves. but i haven't seen the unibrow yet in real life. at the moment i tend towards less rocker and the fuller outline of the spitfire... but that changes every day :)

Could also look at an activator ? I like my el fuego but I probably liked the dominator a little more as it has a tighter turning radius compared, however it was really thick in the tail whereas the el fuego is much thinner up back, which holds nicley when the waves get steep which I like. The activator looks like it has the best of both worlds with the reduced thumb of the board. Something to think about. Seems like an often overlooked board. I think get which ever one you like the look of most and you will be stoked on it and find things you like about it. All good boards and meant for similar size ranges give or take a bit.

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thank you guys. i ordered a 6'0 spitfire timbertek yesterday. i like the eco-approach so it was clear it's gonna be a timbertek and the decision was between unibrow and spit. went for the spitfire because I still have the alternator for really good waves and i like a flatter rocker for everything else... will see how it goes

I am around the same weight 185 and have had lots of FireWire surfboards and I must say the one I love threat at the moment is the spitfire. So versatile and just a great all a ounce board. Great choice as you will be really happy with it.

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finally, i got the spitfire wet after it was deco for a few months in the living room ;)

I love this board! i'm currently in peniche, portugal and surfed it for 4 days, 2-4ft clean to a bit messy, goes in everything, really easy to handle and it's much faster than my other boards, which gets me around sections much better.

so thanks everybody for the advice!

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A good choice and it seems that it is working out. Spitfire is a good board for most days. I have recently gone back to mine after riding a Unibrow for months and love the flatter rocker and the ability to cruise through dead sections on waves.It is also a real crowd control beast as you can catch waves early but it is still very loose on waves. Originally I set it as quad but have discovered it goes really well as thruster on long walled points. Enjoy yours - and doesn't the timber look great!

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Jambo, something I found worked REALLY well on my Spitfire was to run larger front fins, then put in a rear deviant fin. Really seemed to loosen things up a lot. If you can get your hands on one, you should try it!

When I had an Alternator my small wave board was a Doninator. It's a great match to the Alt with easy transition between the two boards. You can ride it quad or thruster. It's a classic board. Another option for a touch more performance would be a Pile Driver. I really like mine in small waves.

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Justo - it is loose enough already but I might stick in some MR twins and a YU trailer and have a crack at some smaller waves. I know what you mean as it does have a lot of tail area for three smallish fins! Why didn't they call it the fat-arsed monkey? Such serious names apart from Chubby Cheddar!